CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A rally that drew about 100 Donald Trump supporters Tuesday night was aimed at appealing to LGBTQ voters. But among the few gay men in attendance, LGBTQ issues were not a top priority.
“I’m not voting for marriage equality or LGBTQ rights,” said Gage West, 23. I want my community to be safe and I want to be able to raise my family and know that my future will be safe. ”
The hotel ballroom where the event took place was half empty, there were no rainbow flags, preferred pronouns were mocked, and gay men far outnumbered straight men.
The event was one of several similar rallies held in battleground states this month by the LGBTQ conservative group Log Cabin Republicans, dubbed the Trump UNITY tour.
Lara Trump called the election a “battle of good versus evil.” NBC News’ Juan Diego Reyes
Lara Trump, co-chair of the Republican National Committee and the former president’s daughter-in-law, was among the speakers. However, LGBTQ issues were not brought up anywhere in her approximately 25-minute speech.
Instead, she talked about why she decided to take on the role at the RNC, claiming without offering any evidence that “something sinister was going on” about the 2020 election results, and addressing the event’s theme. They shared statements that did not seem consistent with a certain unity. .
“Right now we are in a battle between good and evil,” she said, referring to the upcoming election. “We are fighting for the future not only of this country, but of the entire world.”
Several LGBTQ attendees at the event, almost all of whom were white gay men, said they didn’t care that the evening’s speakers only mentioned LGBTQ issues only briefly or didn’t acknowledge them at all. told NBC News.
There were no rainbow flags in the half-empty ballroom in Charlotte where the Trump UNITY event was held. Juan Diego Reyes, NBC News Trump UNITY events target swing states ahead of election. Juan Diego Reyes, NBC News
Trump UNITY events have been held over the past two weeks in major cities in battleground states such as Georgia, Wisconsin and Michigan. Headliners include conservative influencers, Republican officials, Trump family members Lara Trump, Donald Trump Jr., and the former president’s second wife, Marla Maples. They are connected.
The Charlotte event featured Andrew Wheeler, who led the Environmental Protection Agency during the Trump administration. Matthew Whitaker, former Acting Attorney General; And Rick Grenell, the former acting director of national intelligence, is openly gay and speaks at all Trump UNITY events. Previous speakers have included Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Rep. Aaron Schock (R-Ill.). During his time in Congress, he voted in favor of anti-LGBTQ legislation and came out as gay several years later.
Trump himself has not participated in any LGBTQ-led events, and his campaign has not announced any plans to attend. During the campaign, he has sought to gain support from other voter groups, attending events targeting women, Asian American, black and Latino voters.
The Trump campaign did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Richard Grenell was the former acting director of national intelligence in President Trump’s administration. NBC News’ Juan Diego Reyes
On Tuesday night, one of the few times LGBTQ issues were mentioned, speakers talked about President Trump’s appointment of Grenell to his Cabinet (an openly gay man who served in such a position). He praised the same-sex wedding held at President Trump’s resort, Palm Beach, Mar. -a-Lago, in recent years.
Trump fundraiser Bill White, who is openly gay, also spoke at the Charlotte event, pushing back against opponents who questioned the former president’s commitment to the LGBTQ community. He challenged his critics to attend Trump’s rallies, where Village People’s “YMCA” often plays over the speakers.
“What does that guy do at every rally?” White said at the Charlotte event. “He did a dance with his hands in the air to the unofficial gay national anthem for crying out loud.”
Bill White pointed out that “YMCA” is often played at Trump’s rallies. Juan Diego Reyes of NBC News
White then recorded footage of the Charlotte audience dancing to the song, which he said he would later share with the former president.
When asked what they hope a second term for President Trump will accomplish for LGBTQ Americans, gay Trump supporters said society and government already lack prejudice against the LGBTQ community. I answered that I believed there was.
Don Weber, 57, who works for a financial services company, said the LGBTQ community needs to “move away from the victim mentality.”
“We’re past that. We’ve reached that level of equality,” Webber said. “For me, and maybe it’s because of my age, my focus is more on my children, my grandchildren, the economy, and border security.”
Trum UNITY event participant Don Weber said the LGBTQ community has achieved equality. Juan Diego Reyes of NBC News
Rob Smith, a conservative social media influencer and gay black Trump supporter who spoke at Tuesday’s event, agreed.
“We are protected by the federal government from discrimination, that’s a fact. We have a right to marry. We have a right to serve openly in the military,” Smith, 42, told the crowd. spoke. “So I think fundamentally the problems facing this country are much bigger than any small affinity group.”
Federal legislation that would have amended civil rights law to include anti-discrimination protections for Americans based on sexual orientation and gender identity, known as the Equality Act, was blocked by Republicans in Congress in 2019 when Trump was president.
Mr Smith dismissed the push for the Equality Act as “ridiculous”.
Charles Moran, president of the Log Cabin Republicans, acknowledged that Tuesday night’s audience was made up mostly of straight men, with gay men estimating they made up about 30 percent of the attendees.
Conservative social media influencer Rob Smith, top left, said LGBTQ people are “protected from discrimination by the federal government.” Juan Diego Reyes of NBC News
“This is not just about gays and lesbians. It’s about a community that values equality,” Moran said. “And, again, suburban women, young voters, these are core constituencies in the 2024 election cycle. We don’t just have to pander and run away to gays.”
Still, Moran and other event organizers said they believed Trump could secure up to 50% gay voters in the next election, but did not provide numbers to explain why. According to Gallup, millions of American adults identify as lesbian or gay.
A Human Rights Campaign poll conducted in August found that 74% of LGBTQ voters said they planned or were likely to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris, 7.5% said they would vote for Trump, and the rest said they were likely to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris. It was written by someone.
Brandon Wolf, a spokesperson for an advocacy group that supports and raises money for Harris, condemned the Trump UNITY event and accused the former president of leading “the most anti-LGBTQ+ administration in history.”
“Some people really like being close to power, but Donald Trump is someone who always sells power in exchange for something,” Wolf said. “It’s unfortunate that there are groups like the Log Cabin Republicans who are willing to sell out their communities in exchange for being friends with someone like Donald Trump.”
President Trump has banned transgender Americans from serving in the U.S. military. The administration also eliminated some discriminatory protections for LGBTQ people in schools and health care settings. Both policies were reversed during the Biden administration.
If President Trump is re-elected, he would reinstate previous policies banning transgender people from serving in the military, and would reinstate gender-affirming care for transgender minors, which he called “child abuse” and “child abuse.” He vowed to abolish and repeal sexual mutilation (which amounts to “sexual mutilation”). Title IX “Day 1” Protections for Transgender Students. He has also repeated false claims in recent weeks that students are undergoing transition-related surgeries during class. His campaign has aired ads in recent weeks criticizing Vice President Kamala Harris’ past support for inmates receiving transition-related medical care in federal prisons.
President Trump himself did not participate in the LGBTQ-led Trump UNITY event. Juan Diego Reyes of NBC News
Harris has been an active supporter of gay rights throughout her career, publicly supporting same-sex marriage years before Democratic leaders did. Gay advocates view her as having one of the best or most LGBTQ-friendly policy records of any presidential candidate. Still, when asked in an interview with NBC News on Tuesday whether she thought trans Americans should have access to gender-affirming care, Harris appeared to dodge the question, saying first that she would follow the law. , then said: Your doctor will determine what is medically necessary. ”
Sam Alleman, the Harris campaign’s director of LGBTQ engagement, said in a statement that Harris is “the only leader in this campaign” who will fight for LGBTQ people and that “the campaign will not take a single vote for granted.” No,” he said.
“We know that our community would be wiser than to spend every chance we had as president supporting the man who tore us apart,” he said. “Donald Trump’s shallow eleventh-hour outreach to LGBTQ+ voters seeks to roll back discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ Americans and distract voters from his plan to put government in control of our bodies. This is a desperate attempt.”
About 100 people gathered for the Trump UNITY event in Charlotte. Juan Diego Reyes of NBC News
Prior to the UNITY tour, Log Cabin Republicans held two fundraisers for the former president in the spring. Former first lady Melania Trump was paid more than $230,000 to attend the event, according to one of the former president’s most recent financial disclosure forms. Grenell said in his speech Tuesday that none of the speakers at the Trump UNITY event received a fee to speak.
The remaining LGBTQ-led events will be held in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Rallies scheduled for Arizona and Nevada were removed from the group’s social media accounts this week because of “scheduling conflicts,” Moran said.
